Seven

This independence I have granted myself as a generous gift

Shall become a splinter in my heel even before I begin my journey.

I had the will and the fortune to avoid these frivolous grifts,

But the chord you struck with me, it broke me, and it tore me.

These days I am nothing but a vague memory of better times,

A past so free from chains and ropes it almost feels like heaven.

As I enter this grim town at midnight, carrying my ruby crimes,

I count the painless breaths but cannot manage more than seven.

-Jackie